18When they arrived at Jerusalem, they worshiped God. As soon as the people were purified, they offered their burnt offerings, voluntary offerings, and donations.l19Judith dedicated to God all the things of Holofernes that the people had given her, putting under the ban the canopy that she herself had taken from his bedchamber.m20For three months the people continued their celebration in Jerusalem before the sanctuary, and Judith remained with them.

The Renown and Death of Judith.21When those days were over, all of them returned to their inheritance. Judith went back to Bethulia and remained on her estate. For the rest of her life she was renowned throughout the land.
22Many wished to marry her, but she gave herself to no man all the days of her life from the time her husband, Manasseh, died and was gathered to his people.
23Her fame continued to increase, and she lived in the house of her husband, reaching the advanced age of one hundred and five.*n She set her maid free. And when she died in Bethulia, they buried her in the cave of her husband, Manasseh;o24and the house of Israel mourned her for seven days.*p Before she died, she distributed her property to the relatives of her husband, Manasseh, and to her own relatives.q

25r During the lifetime of Judith and for a long time after her death, no one ever again spread terror* among the Israelites.

* [16:23] One hundred and five: long life was a sign of blessing (see Jb 42:16; Prv 16:31; 20:29). The fact that the Maccabean period was one hundred and five years long (168–63 B.C.) may account for assigning this age to Judith.

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